Friday, March 4, 2011

It seems that yesterday marked one year in this glorious country that I am privileged to call my home. I have seen a full cycle of seasons here, and cannot believe that the time has flown so quickly. Just last March I had arrived here in Morocco and gone to Marrakech for my introduction to training. Today, I would have been busing over the Tizi-n-Tichka pass to Ouarzazate, which was to be my "hub" city for the next two months. I was tired and apprehensive, but overall I felt excited by the unknown adventure that lay ahead of me; a year out, the adventure continues and is made no less wonderful by the passage of time. I think that I will stop here, and let last night's journal entry speak for itself:

"03/03/2011 (-432) Day 365

Today marks a year in Morocco; one year ago today, I arrived at Aeroport Mohammed V and took the bus to Marrakech. I wrote my first journal entry in the football field at the Club CNSS and wondered at the great unknown before me. I have lived in a state of amazement and wonder ever since.

I am sitting at a high table [on the roof] of Cafe Clock, near the Bab Boujaloud of the Fes Medina. The sun is setting on the city and the horizon is broken by crumbling minarets and banded by purple and gold. Swallows dart and dive about in the fading light and the soft sound of drums is carried to me on the same breeze that bears them aloft on their evening rounds. An old man in a striped jelaba is pacing on a nearby rooftop, laundry hangs from a nearby window, and somewhere far off children laugh as they play. Soon the call to prayer begins to echo from countless mosques slightly offset from eachother. The reverent cries form a round, a whole and circular sound. God is great, indeed.

I spent the morning with [my friends] in their Villa on Anfa Hill that overlooks La Corniche of Casablanca. and the endless swell of the Atlantic. [my friend] and I had a quiet breakfast this morning and later [her husband] took me out into the city in his convertible. As we crusied beneath the fading grandeur of the french art deco architecture. [We spoke for a long time, about many things before he took me back to get my bags and meet the train].

The train took me to Fes and I wrote for most of the journey, sleeping for the rest. After a few hours the soporific swaying of the train and the clicking of the wheels forms an irresistible lullaby. One year has ended; another lies before me. What wonders are ahead for me now?

Tomorrow to Midelt, then to Rich, and finally to [...] the little village in the Atlas that is now my home."

Author's Note:

Hello, and welcome to my Morocco Journal! Here's a little background: My name is Charlie and I am from Durango, Colorado. I have a degree in Environmental Biology from Fort Lewis College and have worked 5 seasons as a ranger for the U.S. National Park Service in 5 different parks in the states of: Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, and North Carolina. In the future I want to continue to pursue a career with the USNPS and intend to pick up where I left off when return from Africa.

I began my term of service with Peace Corps Morocco in March 2010. The U.S. Peace Corps is an international aid agency focused on providing training, expertise, and aid to developing nations. It is community based and focuses on the interpersonal and cultural aspects of development rather than the monetary aspects.

My site is a small village in the High Atlas mountains, where I work for the Moroccan Ministry of Water and Forests as a researcher and educator. For reasons of security, I cannot disclose my specific location on the public domain; I can however say that my nearest major city is Er-Rachidia and the National Park I am assigned to is the Eastern High Atlas National Park.

The other goals of Peace Corps involve teaching Moroccans about American culture, and also teaching Americans about Moroccan culture. I hope that by reading this blog, you learn something new about this incredible culture, and incredible landscape, that surrounds me everyday.

This blog also provides a convenient means of keeping friends and family abreast of my activities and experiences. I still answer emails at: charlie@incitelearninginc.com , and write the occasional letter as well. I also know that this blog is also being read by people I do not know personally. (see counter below). If you are new to me and to this site, I welcome your visit! I love to write and I love it even more when people read my writing. All I ask is that you shoot me an email or leave me a comment telling me who you are and where you are reading from.

As always, thanks for reading!

-Charlie

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About Me

I have lived in the desert Southwest for a majority of my life and would like to spend the rest of it reading, writing, working, loving, and laughing in the same desert I grew up. The Colorado Plateau is near and dear to my heart and I can't imagine calling anywhere else home.
Park Ranger is my profession and I have worked 5 seasons for the NPS since 2006 in Mesa Verde, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Big Bend National Parks, as well as a summer at Cape Hatteras National Seashore. I am currently serving a stint in Morocco with the U.S. Peace Corps. That blog can be found in my links section.